After my first IVF retrieval, I remember feeling that awkward pressure/pain in my nether regions, which lasted a few days after the procedure. By Day 3, when my one surviving embryo was transferred, the pains had vanished, and I was just left with the overwhelmingly attractive bloat that stayed with me until my cycle was over.

The procedure was much smoother this time, but I have found the recovery to be a lot harder. I took Monday off for retrieval, and Tuesday off for recovery. I was sore yesterday, but nothing too bad - mainly that familiar tender feeling before/after using the loo. This morning was painful - really painful. I could hardly roll over, the bloat was big and the pain was quite bad.

I didn't know what to do; should I go to work, see how it goes? I decided to wait a while longer, since I had to take my Crinone and additional progesterone pessary - the one which requires you to lay down for 30 minutes until it is fully absorbed. Unfortunately, lying on my back was agonising, so I flipped to my side & texted my poor supervisor, to tell her that I just couldn't get in today. I felt awful at the time, but it was the best thing I could have done.

I've spent the day in pain - horrible, bloaty, windy pain. I researched everything I could about OHSS, sure that this was a sign of it. (How weird would it have been to get hyper-stimulated from only three eggs? While I've got the bloat and the abdominal pain, I've got no other signs at all. I'm drinking and peeing like a racehorse, I'm breathing fine. I feel like I've got really bad gas pains, like trapped air. It's painful, like whoa.

Since I've read that it can be a normal thing after egg collection, I haven't been too worried about it. I've tried nearly everything to combat it. Litres of water, Gatorade, Powerade. De-Gas, twice. Panadol for the pain. Fizzy lemonade to try and burp the gas out, metamucil to (ahem) move things along. Nothing is working! Yargh.

I haven't heard anything about our three embabies, but that's normal. I'll hopefully get an update tomorrow, and hear that they're doing well - or, worst case, I'll be brought in early for a 3-day transfer. At this rate, I'm praying for them to get to blastocysts, just so I can have some time to recover down to my normal size!

The worst part is that hubby's man-flu isn't doing real well, so we've both been feeling more than a little sorry for ourselves. We're getting by, though. Jase is taking tomorrow off from work, and I'm heading back - so fingers crossed we'll both shake our lurgies off soon.

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comments:

Hey lady, I had OHSS from an IUI cycle and it was miserable. Take care of yourself and watch for any other symptoms. My doctor had me limit my fluid intake and consume extra protein (eggs for breakfast and lunch!) to help with the swelling. Hang in there and if it gets any worse call your doctor pronto. Hope you feel better soon!

I felt exactly the same after my transfer, it was agony. I didn't go into work all week (though I was working from home). BUT my clinic said that as long as I was: peeing normally, not gaining tons of weight (like 5 lbs overnight) and not out of breath, I would be fine and it was just the normal bloating of the ovaries following stims. So DON'T worry. It will go down, just needs time. But do keep an eye on those three symptoms. Sounds like you're doing everything else perfectly right.

Hi. I haven't gone through this, but after my laparascopy I had horrible trapped gas. The only thing that helped was diet coke and walking around (pacing my house actually). When I was doing that, the gas seemed to disipate a bit. I don't know if it will work, but I do know how terrible that pain can be. Feel better!

Sorry to hear that you're not feeling well :( My philosophy now is that I call the clinic if I'm ever unsure whether something is ok or not... if it would help reassure you, it might be worth a call ? Great to hear your fertilization news... and cheering your embies on :)) xoxo

I'm Jennifer, a 28-year-old newlywed reader from Canada. I found you on Weddingbee back when I was planning my (April 2012) wedding. I have never commented on your blog before, but I just wanted to say that I check in here frequently to see how you're doing. I thought you should know that I am always WISHING, HOPING, PRAYING for your dreams to come true! Sending good vibes from Canada!

About Me

Breathe Gently

I'm Aly - a SAHM from Sydney, Australia. I married my best friend in 2011 & we live together with our crazy cats and golden retriever. After battling through infertility, PCOS and IVF, our miracle daughter was born in March 2013. After 3 miscarriages, 3 freeze all stim cycles & 8 FETs, we finally welcomed our rainbow baby daughter in September 2016. Being lucky enough to raise two beautiful girls means that life is pretty darned spectacular.